Title: Deception

The Arusian night was crystal clear...perfect for stargazing! The stars covered the black sky, each twinkling with its own breathtaking light. A warm summer breeze blew through the trees, carrying the scents of cherry blossoms down to the two lovers sitting on a garden bench. Lance smiled as he leaned further into his lover's embrace. "It is such a beautiful night. I'm glad I finally got you alone."

"Me too." Keith agreed with a content sigh. "We don't get nearly enough time to be alone like this."

"I know." Lance frowned slightly. "I wish this war didn't take up so much of our time. I know that sounds selfish of me, but I can't help it!"

"It doesn't sound selfish." Keith smiled. "I know exactly how you feel."

Lance smiled and shifted closer before lightly kissing Keith's lips. "Well, before something comes along and interrupts, let me say this...never forget how much you mean to me. Okay?"

"I could never forget that. All I have to do is look into your eyes and I know it." Keith kissed Lance. "And don't you go forgetting how much I love you."

Lance was unable to answer at first...he was too busy enjoying Keith's second kiss. He was breathless by the time they pulled apart. "Keep kissing me like that and I won't be able to forget!" Lance chuckled breathlessly.

Keith grinned and gently lowered Lance back so that he was lying on the bench. He leaned over, pressing one hand lightly against the pilot's chest. Without saying a single word he captured Lance's mouth in a deep, passionate kiss. Keith's tongue slid into the eager mouth the second his lips parted, exploring the warm depths.

Moaning deeply, Lance opened his mouth wider, giving Keith more access. One hand tangled into the thick black hair, pushing their lips tighter together while the other slid to the small of Keith's back. It was a piece of heaven and he didn't want the kiss to end anytime soon!

Keith tugged at Lance's shirt, finally managing to pull it free from the waistband of Lance's jeans. He slid his hand under the shirt and rubbed his hand over his lover's bare chest as he tried desperately to deepen the kiss beyond human capabilities.

Lance moaned and whimpered under the touches, his tongue dancing with Keith's to the rhythm of the starlight. It wasn't very often that they could kiss like this outside of their room. Outside among the stars made it even more intoxicating. Finally he had to pull away and turn his head or less he would pass out! Panting, he let go of Keith's hair to caress his face. "I love you."

Keith tilted his head to lean against the gentle caress. "And I love you." Keith whispered, smiling warmly at Lance.

"I love you more." Lance laughed, knowing how childish he sounded but not really caring at that moment. All that mattered to him was the man above him.

Keith chuckled, his smile widening. "Nope. I love you more."

"I'm going to have to disagree with you on that one, captain!" Lance laughed as his fingers slowly traced Keith's face. "I love you more than you'll ever know or imagine."

"Not a chance, I've got your love beat. I love you more then words could ever say." Keith turned his head slightly and captured one of Lance's fingers in his mouth. He sucked suggestively on the digit as his black eyes locked onto hazel orbs.

Lance was glad he was lying down. Because if he were standing, his legs would've given out by now! "Oh just shut up and kiss me again."

Keith grinned and slowly allowed the finger to slide out of his mouth as he pulled his head back. He dipped his head and trailed kisses along Lance's neck as his hand continued to caress the bare flesh of his lover's chest.

"That's...even...better." Lance panted, tilting his head back while his hands worked unsuccessfully with Keith's uniform. It was kinda hard to concentrate with what Keith's hands and mouth were doing.

Keith pushed the pilot's blue shirt up as far as he could then moved his lips down onto Lance's chest. He licked Lance's left nipple before nipping it lightly and sucking it into his mouth.

Lance gasped, arching his back into his lover's mouth. His hands gave up trying to get that damn outfit open and moved to rubbing up and down Keith's back. "If anyone shows up, I'm going to kick their ass!"

Keith chuckled. "The only ass I am concerned about right now is yours."

"Oh really?" Lance laughed, surprised that by-the-book Keith was displaying this much affection out in the open. "What should we do about it?"

"If I have to tell you that…" Keith's voice trailed off as he pulled back his head and grinned wickedly at Lance.

Lance snorted. "Well, if you want that then help me get your uniform undone! I swear you deliberately wear that complicated garment to drive me nuts!"

"Who me?" Keith said looking innocently at Lance. "I would never do such a thing."

"Can the innocent act." Lance laughed and rolled his eyes. "I know you too well to fall for that. We were roommates far too long for me to believe that look!"

"Damn. That's the only thing that sucks about being with your best friend…you can't get away with anything." Keith chuckled.

Lance smirked as he pulled Keith's head down so that their noses were practically touching. "Nor can you get away without kissing me again."

"Well if I must…" Keith sighed in mock exasperation before capturing Lance's lips in another deep kiss.

And Lance thought that the other kiss was heaven. This one was beyond that if that were even possible! This time he wrapped both arms around Keith's neck, keeping the other man firmly in place...at least until he turned his head so that they could breathe again. Lance closed his eyes and sighed as Keith began to work on the other side of his neck. Gods how he loved this man! Then a sound of some sort somehow managed to penetrate his fogged mind and Lance opened his eyes to glance in the direction of the source. Nothing was there near the fountain. "Did you...hear something?"

"No…" Keith replied quickly, only taking his lips off of Lance for the briefest of second.

"Must have been my imagination." Lance whispered though he continued to stare at that spot, looking for any sign of anything. At least he was until Keith pulled his shirt over his head and brought his attention back to more important matters...such as getting that damn uniform undone!

Keith's hands and lips roamed all over Lance's bare chest, one hand slowly working lower after each kiss. That caused Lance's hands to once again lose all coordination, though at least this time he managed to get some of the buttons undone. He whimpered as his lover's hand slid over the front of his jeans, the cool narrow bench limiting his squirming or else they would both fall off. "You...drive me...insane."

"You have always been insane." Keith chuckled as he petted the front of Lance's tight blue jeans. "Yet for some reason I love you anyway."

"You take me beyond that." Lance grinned, using that brief moment to catch his breath and open the rest of Keith's shirt. He slowly rubbed his hands over Keith's chest, smirking as Keith moaned. "I guess you're insane too."

"Only since meeting you." Keith said. Keith dropped his head down so his forehead rested against Lance's chest, breathing huskily. "Maybe we should go inside…someone might see us…"

Lance sighed. "You're probably right. The last thing I want is for Nanny to walk up. That would definitely ruin it!" He paused and glanced in the direction of the fountain again. Still nothing. His imagination must be working overtime tonight. Lance shrugged and smiled up at Keith's face. "Though it is kinda nice being out here with you like this."

"It is nice being out here...perhaps another time we can find a place where we are certain not to get caught." Keith smiled as he sat up, pulling Lance up at the same time.

"I know. Arus is nice, but I wish it wasn't so old fashioned. It's kinda frustrating." Lance frowned.

"Not just that…if that was the only so called problem we wouldn't have a problem. I am just still…bashful about being seen naked by other people…same scrawny little self conscious kid that didn't want to take showers in the locker room." Keith blushed slightly.

Lance laughed as he hugged Keith. "Well that scrawny kid turned out to be a real fox! So hot that I don't want anyone else seeing you naked either."

"Still a little scrawny though." Keith chuckled. "You are the only one I want seeing me naked."

"Good. Cause I can be a selfish brat sometimes. And there are some things that I don't want to share." Lance smiled as he fixed Keith's shirt so that it looked kinda decent. Then he leaned up and pulled his own shirt on before kissing Keith lightly on the lips. "Mainly you."

"You are the only one I want to be with, so you never have to worry about sharing." Keith grinned. "Now let's go find a nice warm bed where we can be alone without fear of interruption."

"Sounds great. Let's hurry before someone comes along and needs you for something. I want you all to myself tonight." Lance laughed as he wrapped an arm around Keith's waist.

Keith chuckled. "Well they'll just have to take a number."

Lance smiled brightly as Keith steered him back into the castle. He glanced over his shoulder one last time toward the fountain but again he saw nothing. The fountain and sound completely left his mind when Keith yanked him inside and toward their bedroom.

Soon silence returned to the garden and a dark figure carefully moved from behind some bushes near the fountain. The figure remained in the shadows, though one could still see a deep frown across its lips. Quietly, the figure slipped into the castle.

##########

In their room, Keith turned on the lamp beside the bed filling the room with a soft glow. He glanced at the bed and noticed a bouquet of flowers laying on one of the pillows. Dark purple, almost blue violets and red roses with tiny sprigs of baby's breath made up the beautiful bouquet. Keith smiled as he picked them up, smelling the flowers. A small note card envelope that had his name written on the front in a fancy script was inside the bundle. "Now just who could there be from?" Keith questioned rhetorically and he pulled the card out of the envelope. On the front of the card was a large heart with two white doves sitting in the center. Keith opened the card and read the inside out loud: "Roses are red. Violets are blue. No one could love you as much as I do."

Lance frowned as he glanced at the card before looking around the room. "I'd like to know who sent those too."

Keith blinked and looked at Lance. "You mean they're not from you?"

"No." Lance mumbled as he went and examined the lock on the door. "And while I'm not surprised that someone would send you flowers, I'm a little nervous that they were inside our room!"

Keith frowned. "Yeah, I wonder how they managed to get in here…unless we forgot to lock the door or something. I mean nine times out ten that's the case." He couldn't help but smell the flowers again. "Can I at least keep the flowers?"

Lance's frown deepened, only to soften when he saw Keith's smiling face. The man did love flowers. "Sure. Someone did spend good money for them and they are beautiful." Lance glanced at the door again. "But for now on, let's be more careful about locking the door. Just the thought of someone else being in here and not knowing who is just creepy."

Keith stepped over to Lance and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for letting me keep them. I gotta put them in water. You can do whatever with the note...try to guess the handwriting or burn it." Keith shrugged as he moved around the room to find a vase for the flowers.

"I think I'll burn it." Lance mumbled as he studied the note. "I don't recognize this handwriting. Do you?"

"Nope. I figured you had whoever at the flower shop write it since yours looks like chicken scratch." Keith chuckled. Finding a vase tucked into a box in the closet, he stuck the flowers in it and moved into the bathroom to add water.

"Ha, ha, ha. Very funny. At least I can read my handwriting." Lance snorted, smiling at Keith before glancing at the note again. Who would be sending Keith flowers? Surely not someone in the castle. Everyone knew he and Keith were together. So why would someone send flowers then? Lance sighed and threw the note into a trashcan. He was definitely going to be more careful about locking the door from now on.

Keith set the vase of flowers on the top of the dresser, pausing to smell one of the roses. "You know, I don't care what people say, guys can like flowers too."

"Yeah." Lance smiled slightly before going into the bathroom and washing his face. He knew that Keith liked flowers and obviously someone else did too. It didn't make him feel very comfortable for some reason. Lance quickly splashed more cold water on his face, washing those feelings away. He had Keith's heart so he didn't need to worry.

Keith sat cross-legged on the bed, waiting for Lance to come back out of bathroom. He held one of roses in his hand, smelling the sweet scent. Roses were his favorite flower...it didn't matter what the color was, he loved them all and was always telling Lance that once the war was over they would have a home with a garden containing roses of every color that he could find.

After he cleaned up some, Lance changed into his sleeping boxers and then came out of the bathroom. He tilted his head towards the bathroom before sitting down on the bed. "You're turn, Tiger."

Keith climbed off the bed and put the rose back in the vase with others. He stepped over to Lance, placing his hands on the pilot's shoulders before kissing his lover's lips with a tender loving kiss. "I'll be back out in a few minutes and we can pick up where we left off."

"Great!" Lance grinned, crawling under the covers as Keith disappeared into the bathroom. He glanced at the flowers and shivered slightly. It wasn't the flowers that unnerved him...shoot, Keith was always getting flowers at the Academy, even after they were together. It was the fact that someone was stubborn enough to put them in their room! Lance knew he locked the door before they left that morning. It made him uneasy that someone was willing to invade their personal space to try and win Keith's affections. Lance didn't want to think about what that person would do next.

A few minutes later Keith came back out of the bathroom dressed in a pair of nearly worn out blue plaid boxer shorts. "Did you miss me?" He grinned as he stepped over to the bed.

"Now that is a silly question." Lance laughed. "Always!"

Keith chuckled as he climbed into the bed and slid under the sheet. He quickly wrapped an arm around Lance's waist. "Thank you for letting me keep the flowers."

"I know how much you love flowers. Sorry I wasn't the one who gave them to you." Lance smiled slightly, kissing Keith's cheek. "Besides...I can rarely say no to you."

Keith grinned. "Well since you let me keep them it's like you giving them to me, so in my mind you gave them to me."

Lance smiled brighter as he relaxed against Keith. "You do have a way with words. That's one of the reasons why you're the captain."

"I'm not sure if that's suppose to be a compliment or not." Keith chuckled as he snuggled closer to Lance. "But right now I'd rather worry about picking up what we started outside."

Smirking, Lance pulled Keith's head down for a deep, passionate kiss. Keith may like flowers, but Lance knew what he liked even more.

Keith moaned from around the kiss and allowed Lance to lower him onto the bed. He reached up to caress Lance's cheek and just as he went to speak there was a loud, persistent knocking on the door.

Lance let out a frustrated sigh and closed his eyes. "We should probably answer that."

"Do we have to?" Keith asked, sighing as his hand flopped down against the bed. "Maybe they'll just go away."

"Maybe..." Lance mumbled, the knocking getting louder and more instant. "Then again, maybe the door will fall down instead."

"I guess I have to answer it then." Keith reluctantly climbed out of the bed and walked over to the door.

Coran was on the other side, smiling sadly. "I'm really sorry to bother you this late, Keith. But I forgot that one of our equipment suppliers is coming in early tomorrow morning. I really need you and Princess Allura to go over the order forms to make certain that we order everything we need for the new security system."

Keith frowned...the last thing he wanted to be doing was looking over boring forms for the next several hours. He knew there was little choice with the supplier coming early in the morning. "Just give me a couple minutes to get dressed." Keith closed the door and sighed. He pulled a clean pair of jeans and a blue sweater out of the dresser drawers. "Sorry love, looks like we'll have to wait until another night to continue."

"I know. And you're probably going to be late coming back." Lance sighed, very disappointed. "Can I have at least a kiss goodnight?"

"Of course." Keith quickly finished getting dressed and stepped over to the bed. Leaning on the edge he bent down and kissed Lance on the lips. "Goodnight love, pleasant dreams."

"Goodnight Tiger. Don't stay up too late." Lance forced a smile that quickly disappeared when Keith walked out of the room. Glancing at the flowers once more, he rolled to his side and curled up under the covers. Well, there was at least one consolation from this night. If he couldn't compete with work, then whoever sent Keith the flowers couldn't either!

##########

Keith walked along the corridors with his hands stuffed into his pockets, barely paying any attention to what Coran was talking about.

"Again, I'm really sorry about this. I don't know how it could've slipped my mind." Coran said before opening the door to one of the studies. "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything."

"Nothing that can't be resumed later." Keith mumbled. As he walked into the study he noticed that Allura was already sitting at the desk waiting. He walked over and sat down on the other chair. "Hello princess."

"Evening Keith." Allura smiled, yawning slightly. "I hope this doesn't take too long."

"Hopefully we can get it over with quickly." Keith said, stifling back a yawn of his own.

Soon Coran began going over the details of the orders, explaining what they needed to do though they had already done it enough to have it memorized. Allura stiffened a yawn before whispering to Keith. "It's probably good that Lance isn't here. He would've fallen asleep already. I know I want to!"

"I feel like I am asleep, only my mind don't know it." Keith mumbled, having to force his eyes to stay open.

Allura had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing. Finally, Coran stopped talking and handed them the papers. "Unfortunately, we have many to look over." Coran sighed. "I hope they won't take too long."

Keith couldn't help but yawn deeply, this had already taken too long and he wanted to just curl up and go to sleep wherever his body dropped. He looked over the papers with sleep hazed eyes that kept refusing to focus on the words.

"Keith...Keith..." Allura gently hit Keith on the head with her hand. "Wake up. Coran is gone so glance over these papers. Then you can go to sleep."

Keith hid a yawn behind his hand. "I'd rather just go to sleep now and sort this out come morning."

Allura smiled sympathetically. "I know. But since you're already here, we might as well finish this. I'm sure Lance is already asleep anyway. So let's get to work so you and I can go to bed."

Keith nodded and shifted position on the hard uncomfortable chair. He glanced at the couch. "These old chairs are murder. They always give me a stiff back if I sit in 'em too long. I'm going to move over to the couch."

"Good idea." Allura smiled, getting up and carrying the pile of papers to the couch. "I'll join you."

Keith leaned back against the couch as he flipped through the pages. Reading anything was becoming harder and harder. "Should make Coran be the one to stay up all night reading this, since it's his fault for forgetting about the meeting."

Allura sighed as she leaned against Keith. "I agree. Well, let's get this over with."

It wasn't very long before Keith lost the battle against sleep. His head dropped back against the couch and his hand that still held one of the papers lay on his lap.

#######################################################

Lance groaned slightly, really not wanting to wake up even though the sunlight was hitting his eyes. He really didn't sleep well, kept having dreams of his lover leaving him. Not very pleasant dream material. Reaching over to the other side of the bed Lance jerked awake when he found nothing. Sitting up, he glanced around.

Sighing, Lance got out of bed and dressed. It was obvious that Keith didn't come to bed last night. The captain must have pulled yet another all nighter. The man was such a workaholic that sometimes it drove Lance nuts!

Walking down the hallway, Lance began his search of the castle. Either Keith was awake and already working or he had fallen asleep at a desk or in a chair in Coran's study. On a whim, he decided to check one of the smaller studies...surprised to see Keith sprawled out and sound asleep on the couch. Why would they be doing paper work in this study? Usually it was done in Coran's or the library?

Shrugging Lance quietly walked in, smiling at how cute Keith looked when he was asleep. Keith looked so much like a kid when he slept...it was adorable. Lance knelt down next to the couch and leaned forward to kiss his lover, only to stop when he saw something red on Keith's cheek. It was red lipstick. Did Allura leave it? She would often kiss them on the cheek before going to bed. It was kind of a sister thing. But Lance thought she usually wore more of a pink color. Didn't she? Blinking and confused, he gently wiped the mark off of Keith's cheek.

Keith slowly opened his eyes and smiled at Lance. "Morning. I guess I kinda fell asleep in here…sorry about that."

"Yeah...I missed you." Lance smiled slightly. "What did you do all night?"

"Listened to Coran ramble then read some boring papers." Keith said as he sat up. "Real boring stuff."

"I bet. I went to look for you in Coran's study, but couldn't find you. I was surprised to find you in here."

"This is the study Coran wanted to use I guess." Keith shrugged. He glanced around the room not noticing a clock. "I wonder if I have time to take a shower before that supplier gets here."

Lance nodded as he stood up. "Yeah. You go ahead. I'm starving for some breakfast."

Keith slightly tilted his head to one side and looked at Lance. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine. Just tired." Lance smiled weakly before yawning. "I don't sleep well without you in the bed with me."

"Sorry." Keith apologized sincerely. He reached out and took hold of Lance's hand. "And sorry our night got ruined."

"It's okay. It's not your fault. We can make up for it later." Lance squeezed Keith's hand as his other ran through the black hair.

Keith smiled. "Have you taken a shower this morning?"

"I'm afraid I already have." Lance smiled slightly before bending down and kissing Keith lightly on the lips. "Besides, you don't have that much time before the dealer gets here. And you know how long our showers can be."

"Yeah, I guess…" Keith sighed as he slowly stood up. "I guess I'll catch up to you at breakfast…just try not to finish before I get there, okay?"

"That's a promise." Lance chuckled before kissing Keith a little harder. "Just don't take too long or else Coran and the dealer will get to see you before I do."

"I'll take one of the world's fastest showers." Keith kissed Lance's cheek then sprinted out the door.

Lance smiled sadly as he watched Keith leave. Was Keith...? No! Don't even think it! Keith would never cheat on him. Lance knew Keith long enough to know that if the captain were tired of him that Keith would tell him and not play around. Lance sighed as he slowly walked toward the dining room. He trusted Keith with his heart, so why was his mind starting to question?

##########

Keith showered quickly and got dressed, his long black hair was still wet as he hurried towards the dining room. He didn't care who got in his way or what they wanted he was determined to meet Lance for breakfast.

"There you are!" Nanny's sharp voice brought Keith to a screeching stop. She was frowning in disapproval as she walked up to him. "I have been looking all over for you! The dealer is early and waiting for you and her highness in her study."

"I'll be there in ten minutes." Keith said in an annoyed tone.

Nanny rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue. "You are already ten minutes late! Another ten will not due!"

"So make it five. I have prior engagements to attend to first." Keith frowned.

"Very well." Nanny's frown deepened. "But only five minutes! Not a second more! This is a new dealer and we don't want to leave a bad impression."

"Well if you want a good impression made you'll have to wait five minutes." Keith quickly stepped around her and continued on his way down the hall.

##########

Lance was quietly playing with his food, making pictures with his scrambled eggs. Everything that happened last night was just his imagination. That had to be all it was. Everyone always said his imagination tended to run wild at times. His mood brightened when he heard familiar footsteps and smiled brightly when Keith walked in. But Keith's frustrated face kinda burst Lance's mood. "Something come up?"

"Unfortunately…yes." Keith said as he walked over to the table and sat down sideways on Lance's lap. "I only got about one minute." He grabbed Lance's cup of coffee and took a long sip. "So it's a quickie breakfast."

"Why?" Lance mumbled, loosely wrapping his arms around Keith's waist. "I won't see you until evening then...if then even!"

"Because the supplier is already here and waiting. Nanny's ready to go on the rampage that I demanded five minutes even and that was minute ago and it takes at least a minute to get there." Keith sighed. He grabbed Lance's fork and took a bite of the eggs. "I wish I had longer…or could force someone else to go in my place. I swear this boring meeting shit is the only draw back to being captain."

"I wish you had longer too. At least have fun when you go to the village today." Lance sighed when Keith blinked at him. "You forgot, didn't you."

"Um, yeah…why do I have to go to the village today?"

"Because the Voltron Force was invited to attend a village festival but with the recent attacks from Doom, Coran felt that we all shouldn't go. Allura picked you, Pidge, and Hunk to accompany her while Sven and I stay on at the castle in case of an emergency." Lance pouted as he rested his head on Keith's shoulder. "You know how long those festivals can last. I probably won't see you until really late."

"Oh, that dumb thing is today?" Keith groaned as he stood up. "I promise I'll be back as soon as I possibly can. And I hate to say it but I really have to get to that meeting."

Lance nodded his head slowly. "I know. Hopefully things will calm down sometime this week and I'll get to see you for more than five minutes."

"Yeah…you can always fake an emergency to get me out of that thing…I'm sure Sven would help you think up something that requires me leaving the party. But until then…" Keith blew Lance a kiss and headed towards the door.

"Don't work too hard." Lance said before playing with his food again. Finally, he shoved his plate away and left the table. This time Keith didn't give him a real kiss goodbye.

##########

It wasn't until well after midnight that Keith slipped into their darkened room. Exhausted from the long and tiring day, Keith didn't bother to head into the bathroom to wash up. Instead he stood beside his side of the bed and stripped his clothes off down to the white cotton boxers he wore beneath his light brown khaki pants.

Lance had his back to Keith, appearing to be asleep. In truth he wasn't. He could rarely sleep unless Keith was in bed with him. But it bothered Keith if he stayed up waiting for him, so Lance usually pretended to be asleep and 'wake up' after Keith got into bed. As Keith climbed into bed Lance was about to do just that when he smelled some perfume. It was a strange, but pleasant scent. However, it wasn't one of Allura's or any of her maids. Why did Keith have it on him?

Keith rolled over on his side and wrapped an arm around Lance's waist, snuggling close against his lover's back. He was a little disappointed that Lance was asleep making it so they once again didn't have a chance to talk. So he settled for being close and holding Lance in his arms.

Forcing himself to remain relaxed and not pull away no matter how confused he was, Lance tried to go to sleep. However even Keith's warmth and arms around him weren't enough to relax his mind. In fact, the closeness only made the fragrance even stronger. There were many people at the festival, so it was probably just from someone who was hanging around the princess and wearing too much perfume.

But what if it wasn't? Lance closed his eyes tighter as he made himself snuggle closer to Keith. He was going to get these treacherous thoughts out of his head! Keith was not that way and Lance knew it!

Soon, Lance could hear Keith's slow and steady breathing. Lance rolled over in Keith's arms, smiling slightly at Keith's peaceful face. Gods how he loved this man! Lance prayed that he was only overreacting...that he wasn't losing Keith. Sighing, Lance settled down against his lover, the perfume even stronger now that Lance was facing him. There was going to be very little sleep for him tonight.

#############################################

The next morning Keith woke up early to the feeling of the morning sun washing over his face. Sighing, he turned his head and noticed that Lance was curled up at the edge of his own side of the bed. Keith carefully sat up and stretched his arms, not overly surprised to see Lance so far over since his lover could be a very restless sleeper at times. So Keith quietly climbed out the bed to take a shower. Afterwards he stood in front of the mirror with a towel wrapped around his waist as he finished with the morning rituals. The partly open door was pushed open the rest of the way and Keith grinned brightly when he saw Lance in the doorway.

"About time you woke up sleepy head." Keith chuckled. He stepped over to Lance, sliding his arms around his lover's waist and tipping his head for a kiss.

Lance jerked at first, but quickly relaxed, wrapping his own arms around Keith and kissing him deeply. He smiled slightly and yawned when they broke free. "Sorry. Had a restless night. Not quite awake yet."

"Do you need help waking up?" Keith asked with a mischievous grin.

"You have something in particular in mind?" Lance smiled wider. Everything had to be in his head. If it weren't, Keith wouldn't be this cheerful to see him. While this comforted him, Lance now felt like a traitor for even thinking those thoughts!

"I can think of a few things." Keith took a step back from Lance and dropped the towel from around his waist.

Lance chuckled when he saw Keith's morning desire. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Keith's neck. "You're up late and are still frisky in the morning. How do you do that without any coffee?"

Keith ran his hands along Lance's bare back. "One look at you is all it takes."

"Flatterer." Lance whispered, relaxing completely as he slowly kissed Keith's neck. All doubts were quickly fading from his mind. "Such a sweet talker."

Keith moaned and tipped his head to give Lance better access. He hooked his thumbs under the waistband of Lance's boxers and pushed them down, allowing them to fall to the floor around his lover's ankles. Keith pushed his body tighter against Lance's and smiled. "I see I am not the only one who doesn't need morning coffee to get up in the morning."

"Well, you are just as addicting." Lance said huskily as his hands massaged Keith's shoulders. The feel of his lover's bare skin on his own was so comforting and reassuring after everything that had happened...and all the nightmares.

"Perhaps a hot shower will wake you up." Keith grinned, his eyes glimmering suggestively as he slid his hands over Lance's firm buttocks.

Lance moaned deeply as his hands tightened on Keith's shoulders and pulling them even closer. "You're off to a good start." He mumbled, kissing Keith's neck again as his lover slowly moved him toward the shower.

Then a loud banging on the door interrupted the peaceful silence that had filled the room. Keith sighed and rested his head against Lance's shoulder. "I don't want to answer that door."

"I don't want to either." Lance groaned, holding Keith tightly. "How do they do that? Are they psychic or something?"

"I don't know, but this is getting annoying." Keith glanced at the bathroom, debating closing it and locking it and taking the shower anyways or answering the knock on the door to be sure it was nothing of grave importance.

Lance sighed. He knew that look...Keith's sense of duty and his personal desires were at war with each other. "Go answer it. It'll make you feel better and if it's nothing important then you can deal with it later."

"If it's nothing important it won't take me more then a minute to deal with this unwanted intruder." Keith grabbed the towel and wrapped it snuggly around his waist before heading to answer the door.

Sadly, Lance pulled his boxers back on. Chances were there was going to be no more 'waking up' this morning. His mood sank even more when he saw Coran at the door.

Coran looked slightly worried. "Sorry to bother you, Keith. Have you seen Allura? She is usually with you."

"Last I saw her was after we returned from the festival." Keith shook his head.

"Well, Nanny couldn't find her early this morning. And her bed hasn't been slept in." Coran looked really worried now. "Any suggestions on where she might be?"

Keith frowned. "No. I don't know where she is. Give Lance and I a moment to get dressed and we will help search for her."

Coran sighed in relief. "Thank you. I hate it when she pulls something like this. Nanny, Hunk, and I are currently searching the castle. Sven and Pidge are searching the stables and surrounding area. Could Lance search the lake while you search the gardens, Keith?"

'I'd rather be searching with Lance but it'll be quicker to find her searching as many places as possible at one time.' Keith sighed. "Sure. Good luck with the search." He closed the door and sighed again. "Looks like we have to wait a little longer this morning."

"Yeah." Lance grumbled, yanking on a pair of jeans. "Of all times for her to pull her disappearing act again..."

Keith nodded. "She really needs to stop pulling these stunts."

Lance nodded as he finished getting dressed. Lately her timing was getting more and more annoying. That and Keith was having to spend a lot more time with her. It looked like it was going to be one of those months where they weren't going to get any free time together. Finished with his shoes, Lance stood up and smiled sadly at Keith. "Looks like I may not get to see you until after dinner. She is usually missing until then."

"Hopefully it doesn't take that long this time." Finished getting dressed, Keith stepped over to Lance and gave him a hug. "If it is that long we'll just have some serious lost time to make up for." He kissed Lance's cheek and headed back towards the door. "Let's just hurry up and find her, okay?"

"Okay. I'm not really hungry for breakfast anyway." Lance said and followed Keith out of the door. He should be since he hardly ate anything yesterday, but now he suddenly lost his appetite.

"I'll talk to you later." Keith said before hurrying down the hallway heading toward the gardens.

"Right. Much later." Lance mumbled as he watched Keith leave before heading for the lake. By the time he got to the lake and searched the surrounding woods, it'll be afternoon. Even if someone found her before he got too far in his search, it would probably take a couple of hours to get back. And either way, Lance would be too tired for much activity. With a heavy sigh, he made his way toward the lake.

##########

Keith searched the gardens...checking every stone bench, checking under every tree. Still there was no sign of her. An hour later, he finally came to the hedge maze and sighed as he stared at the high wall of green leaves. He had found her in the maze on more then one occasion and wondered if that was where she was once again. Sighing Keith started into the maze, knowing it could take quite a while since the princess could be lost.

Slowly, Keith began to search every hidden area of the maze. The maze was designed for lovers, allowing them to find many hiding spaces for them to have some fun. Keith knew this since he and Lance had used some of those areas from time to time. After several hours of careful searching, Keith finally found Allura wandering around the maze. She smiled brightly when she saw Keith. "Keith! Thank goodness! I was afraid I would never get out of here!"

"So why'd you wander into here in the first place, princess?" Keith asked in frustration. "Everyone has been worried about you." He asked in a gentler tone to soften the harshness of the question.

"Well...um..." Allura blushed slightly from embarrassment. "There's this place where I go to relax and think...to get away from everything for a moment. I went there last night and I guess...well, I fell asleep." She blushed even more. "I woke up and wasn't completely awake as I walked toward my bathroom. By the time I realized that I wasn't in my room, I was lost!"

Keith chuckled. "We'll let's get you out of here." He tried his wrist communicator so he could tell the others the search for the princess was over but got nothing but static. "I think it's broken, again. I'll have to get Pidge to fix for me…again."

"So is mine. I really think we need to update them or something." Allura smiled slightly. "I really didn't mean to have everyone worry. It was an accident. I swear!"

"That's alright. Though you should really learn to be more careful princess." Keith said as he slowly backtracked his way towards the exit.

"I'm really sorry." Allura sighed, hooking her arm casually around Keith's. "I promise to be more careful."

Keith sighed, not really feeling like bothering with a lecture that would only fall on deaf ears. He'd just let Coran and Nanny scold the princess for disappearing the way she did.

It took another hour, but finally they got out of the maze. Allura smiled brightly as she released Keith's arm and stretched, taking a deep breath. "I honestly thought I was going to be stuck in there all day!" She laughed before wrapping her arms around Keith's neck and kissing him hard on the lips. "Thank you so much!"

Keith blinked in shock at the princess's sudden action, stunned for a brief moment before pulling away from Allura. "You're welcome. "

Allura giggled as she grabbed Keith's arm again. "Well, I'm starving since I missed breakfast and it is still too early for lunch. Let's grab a small bite to eat."

"Yeah, go right ahead." Keith and Allura turned in surprise toward the voice, seeing Lance glaring at them with his arms crossed across his chest. Lance was exhausted and hungry after wandering all around the lake. When he called in for an update, he noticed his communicator was not working so he decided to come back and get a new one. Now after seeing all that, he wished he hadn't. He suddenly felt sick and completely lost. "I'm suddenly not very hungry."

"Why aren't you hungry? Are you sick?" Keith asked concernedly. He pulled his arm away from Allura and stepped over to Lance. "You look a little pale."

Lance's eyes narrowed as he took a step back, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Oh, I'm just fine. Never been better."

Keith looked confused and a little hurt that Lance had pulled away from him. "Then what is your problem?"

"As if you don't already know. Talk about a sick joke!" Lance snapped before turning and quickly storming away.

Allura blinked and placed a hand on Keith's shoulder. "Um...what's with Lance?"

Keith shook his head. "I don't know." Keith watched Lance walking away for a moment before finally blinking and breaking out of the trance-like state he was in. "But I'm going to find out." He said firmly and quickly ran after Lance.

##########

Lance walked as fast as he could, wanting to run so bad but not sure where he could run to. He felt so sick from holding back all the pain and tears! Not only did Allura kiss Keith, she even thanked him for it! And he thanked her in return! He wanted to throw-up so bad, but there was nothing in his stomach to throw-up!

Keith caught up to Lance in the castle near their bedroom. He grabbed Lance's arm, pulling the man to a stop. "I don't know why you are so upset…but I do know it's obvious we need to talk, alone." Keith said firmly.

"There's nothing to talk about!" Lance snapped and jerked free. "Don't touch me!"

Keith winced at the harshness of Lance's tone. "I think you've been in the sun a little too long." He grabbed Lance's arm once again and pulled him into their room. "Now why don't you have a seat on the bed?"

"No!" Lance yelled, jerking out of Keith's grip again. "And I said don't touch me!"

"Lance, please just calm down and tell me what is wrong." Keith pleaded. He felt hurt and confused by Lance's hard words and behavior and wished he knew what was wrong so he could help.

"You know damn well what's fucking wrong! So drop the innocent act!" Lance yelled, this time unable to hold back the tears anymore. "When were you going to fucking tell me? Or were you just going to keep messing around behind my back?"

"What are you talking about?" Keith asked in shock. Lance's accusation cut into him like a knife.

Lance laughed bitterly, throwing his hands in the air as he paced. "Like you don't know! I caught you kissing Allura, damnit! So who else have you been messing with too?"

Keith stood in one place as he watched Lance pace. "Allura kissed me and that's just because I helped her out of the maze. You are the only one I am with."

"Oh really?" Lance snorted as he stopped and glared at Keith. "So maybe you're telling the truth about Allura, but it doesn't explain the lipstick you had on your cheek yesterday morning nor the perfume that was on you last night!"

"What lipstick?" Keith questioned, having no idea what Lance was even referring to. "And the perfume scent just came from the festival. I had little choice but to interact with people, and there was also incenses burning."

Lance didn't care that he was crying anymore! This hurt so much! "I'm talking about the red lipstick on your cheek yesterday morning when I found you on the couch! You never came to bed that night! And don't give me any shit about it being from Allura cause she doesn't wear red lipstick!"

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Keith slowly stepped over to Lance and placed one hand on his lover's shoulder, reaching out to wipe the tears away with his other hand.

"Don't touch me." Lance sobbed, stepping back again. "And that perfume was so strong that it wiped out everything else! It could've only come from being close to someone for a long time. And Allura doesn't wear that perfume either!"

"Look, I think you've been in the sun too long and haven't had enough to eat, nor had enough sleep. Your mind is playing tricks on you." Keith said calmly.

Lance snorted as he walked over to the dresser. "I haven't eaten or slept since these stupid flowers showed up two days ago! All this shit started after they showed up in our room when I know I locked the blasted door!" He grabbed the vase and threw it across the room, slamming it into a wall. As the vase shattered and spilt water and flowers everywhere, Lance fell against the wall. His back slid down it until he reached the floor, where he quickly curled up into a tight ball and cried uncontrollably.

Keith visibly flinched at the sound of shattering glass. He quickly rushed over to Lance and knelt down in front of him, pulling Lance against him despite his lover's struggles. "Stop being paranoid. The only person I am with, or ever want to be with, is you. You are the one I love."

"I...I want...to believe you. I love you so much!" Lance sobbed, refusing to lift his head from his knees. "Please...I need...to be...alone right now...please..."

"I'm not leaving you alone right now, not when you're so upset!" Keith said firmly. "I have never lied to you Lance so I don't know why you don't believe me now."

"The flowers...the lipstick...being gone so much...I'm so confused!" Suddenly, Lance jerked out of Keith's arms and leapt to his feet. "I need to be alone!" He yelled before dashing out of the room.

Keith jumped to his feet and ran after Lance, not trusting his lover not to do something stupid when he was this upset. However instead of catching up with Lance, Keith ran into Nanny...literally. "No running in the halls!" Nanny snapped, dusting herself off as she got up and glared at Keith. "Galaxy Garrison wishes to speak with you captain."

Keith literally growled. "Fine." He stormed off towards the control room, praying that Lance would be all right.

##########

An hour later Keith was done speaking to Galaxy Garrison. He couldn't believe the rotten timing they had to send him on an extra mission. He was starting to wonder if they had anyone else working for them when he was stuck doing so many of their missions. All he wanted to do right now was set Lance straight about things and kiss and make up.

Keith quickly went into their bedroom, frowning at the broken vase and flowers on the floor. Sighing, he carefully cleaned up the mess. He thought of saving a couple of roses but decided Lance wouldn't appreciate it so he threw the whole mess into a trashcan. Once the mess was cleaned up he packed a few things into a duffel bag for the trip. Leaving the bag on the bed he left the room to find Lance, praying he could find him before he had to leave.

After a little over a half-hour of searching Keith found Lance doing laps in the gym's swimming pool. Keith squatted down at the end of the pool and waited for Lance to finish the lap he was on. When Lance reached the wall he patted the top of the brown head to get his attention.

Breathing hard, Lance jerked back in surprise not expecting anyone to be there. He glanced up at Keith and quickly averted his eyes. "Yeah?"

"Feeling any better?" Keith asked, his voice was genuinely concerned.

"No." Lance mumbled. He felt ashamed for his childish behavior. He especially felt bad about doubting Keith's love, but the suspicion just would not let go.

Keith frowned. "Galaxy Garrison contacted me…I'm going to have to go away for a few days and I would like to be able to leave knowing that everything is okay."

"Figures they would call." Lance snorted, still not looking at his captain. "Everything's fine. If not it can wait until later. It always does."

"It's not like I have much of a choice. I know it sucks but I have a job to do."

Lance shrugged and glanced up at Keith, his face expressionless and eyes completely blank. "I know. So you better get to it."

Keith flinched inwardly at the ice in Lance's voice, feeling a slight shiver go through him despite the warmth of the poolroom. "You don't have to be so hostile about it." He mumbled. "It's not like I am going to be gone for long. A couple days at the most."

"It is always a couple of days! One right after another! Even when you are here, I don't see you!" Lance rolled his eyes. "But never mind. I'm just being emotional and childish again. Can't see things straight. Wasn't that what you were going to say next?"

"No. Do you think I like having to spend the nights away from you? The days away from you?" Keith questioned angrily. "I don't like it one bit but I do what I have to do so there can be a tomorrow. I am not going to give up doing all I can to end this war so that there can be a peaceful future where there is nothing to interrupt my days and nights with you."

"That's all fine and dandy, but there is no promise that we will even live to see the end of this war!"

"I prefer to think differently, to believe in my heart that we will survive and be able to live a peaceful life together." Keith looked at Lance in confusion. "What the hell is your problem today? First you have a temper tantrum accusing me of things I haven't done, and now you are acting like a jerk as though you couldn't care less that I was leaving for a couple days."

"My problem?" Lance growled lowly before turning his head away. "Look! I'm tired and feel like shit! I don't want to deal with this right now!"

"Fine." Keith sighed as he stood up. "Maybe when I come back you'll be in a more sociable mood."

"Whatever." Lance snorted. Then his face softened. "Just be careful, okay?"

Keith smiled slightly down at Lance. "I'm always careful."

Lance smiled weakly at that. "I'll hold you to it. I'll see you later then. And...I love you."

Before Keith could say anything else Allura stepped in through the door. "Oh, Keith there you are. The shuttle is ready to go now."

"Figures she would show up." Lance mumbled and diverted his eyes again. "She has such wonderful timing."

"I'll be there in a minute. I just want to finish saying bye to Lance." Keith smiled at Allura before turning back towards the pool, only to see Lance had swum off again. Keith sighed and turned to head out the door.

Lance stopped swimming and watched sadly as Allura latched to Keith's arm, practically dragging him out. He felt like a heel for swimming away...but he really didn't want to talk anymore either. Though exhausted Lance started swimming laps again. At least the water hid his tears as he tried once more to figure out what he had done so wrong to lose Keith's interest.

####################################################

The trip was as long and boring as Keith had anticipated it to be. During the next two days all Keith could think about was the bad terms he and Lance were on when he had left. Finally the task was over and Keith began the journey back to Arus.

The shuttle was on autopilot and Keith sat trying to read a book. After reading the same paragraph five times, Keith closed the book and looked at the picture of himself and Lance that he had taped to the console of the shuttle. He still didn't know what was going on between them.

Suddenly alarms started to sound and Keith jolted upright, immediately checking all the controls. Panic raced across his features for a brief moment as the controls indicated a complete engine failure. Keith secured the seat harness and pushed the distress beacon as shudders began to run through the tiny shuttle. Keith had no control over the shuttle as it plummeted towards a small planet that had been deserted after being devastated by the war. He closed his eyes and braced himself for impact as the planet's surface grew closer and closer with each passing second.

##########

Pidge jerked with a start when an alarm went off. "What the..." He mumbled as he frantically tried to locate the location of the beacon and contact Keith. Right at that moment, Sven came running into the room.

"What's going on? I heard the alarm in the hallway?" Sven asked.

"It's a distress beacon from Keith's ship!" Pidge frowned. "It seems to be coming from Planet Runial, but I can't make vocal contact with his ship!"

"Not good." Sven frowned, the worry in his voice almost palpable. "Keep trying to make contact. I'll start getting everything ready to go get Keith."

Pidge nodded before turning his attention back to the controls. "Right. I'll see if I can get a better fix on his position. I sure hope he's alright."

"I'm sure he is. Keith's too strong for him to be anything but okay." Sven quickly left the control room to find the others and break the news to them.

##########

Sven frowned as he looked over the coordinates. "Are you sure about this, Pidge?"

Pidge nodded. "Yup. That's as close as I can get. Afraid the solar winds are making it difficult to get any closer."

"Alright. I want you to stay here and keep trying to contact his ship." Sven paused when Allura came into the control room. "Where's Lance?"

Allura shrugged. "I told him but he just turned and walked away. I don't know what his problem is today. He's been moody ever since Keith left!"

"No kidding, but I can't see him just walking away." Sven frowned. He shrugged the thought off and turned back to Pidge. "Any luck?"

Pidge slowly shook his head. "Afraid not. But I'll keep trying. You and Hunk just be careful. We don't know if he had some sort of ship trouble or was shot down!"

"Might be better that Lance doesn't go." Hunk sighed. "He hasn't been sleeping much...or eating much lately for that matter. Might be getting sick. Not safe for a space rescue mission."

"I think it would be better to have Lance on the team instead of the princess." Sven glanced at Allura. "No offense but when we don't know what caused the crash or the severity it, we need all the help we can get and I don't like the idea of putting your safety at risk."

Allura snorted and held her head up high. "I'm well certified in first aid. Probably more than any of you! And Lance is definitely in no condition to fly! I'm going!"

'Damn, she can be a stubborn bitch at times! No wonder Keith just doesn't bother trying to tell her to stay out of the way.' Sven sighed. "Very well." He turned his attention back to Pidge. "Just stay on the controls and we'll stay in close contact, hopefully the solar storms don't cause too much inference."

"Will do!" Pidge smiled slightly as the three people headed for the craft. "And good luck!"

##########

The shuttle had rolled several times after impact before crashing up against a large rock. The hull of the shuttle was dented and scrapped but had stayed in tact for the most part. The control panel had caught fire but Keith was able to quickly put it out. The only problem the fire caused was to make the radio unusable. Keith suffered only a few minor injures, from cuts and bruises to a sprained wrist. He was unable to find the first aid kit and had to make a makeshift brace for his wrist as he waited for a rescue.

Keith remained in the shuttle as the planet's atmosphere wasn't the best for supporting human life, the temperatures during the day reaching nearly 150. Though it wasn't much cooler in the shuttle, he at least didn't have to worry about sunburn. At night the temperatures could plummet to chilling temperatures.

Keith cursed the desert climate, the heat was almost unbearable. He stripped down to his black cotton boxers and sipped at the half-finished bottle of water from his pack to attempt to beat the heat. He still couldn't stop himself from thinking about his fight with Lance and was looking forward to the making up half of the fighting.

Then a ship came into view. At first Keith was hesitant...after all this was still a war zone. But then he saw the seal of the Arus royal family. Looked like he was finally going to get to go home.

The ship landed not too far from the downed craft. Hunk and Sven slowly exited the craft, their guns drawn and eyes on the alert. Sven relaxed when he saw Keith slowly approach their ship. He rushed forward and reached Keith in a flash. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"Stiff and sore and hot as hell, but otherwise alright." Keith smiled weakly. "The engines failed, though I have no idea why."

"I'm glad to see you're okay." Sven sighed in relief. "Let's not push our luck and get out of here."

"I'm for that!" Hunk smiled as the two men walked up. "I don't like it here."

"Yeah, I wouldn't recommend taking a vacation here." Keith glanced past Hunk. "Where's Lance?"

"Still on Arus." Hunk snorted as he and Sven helped Keith into the craft. "Don't ask me why. I gave up trying to figure that boy out a long, long time ago!"

"Oh." Keith said quietly, looking hurt. "I thought he would've come…even if he was still mad at me."

"What is going on with you two anyway? Lance has been acting strange lately." Sven asked. But before Keith could say anything, Allura came rushing over with a first aid kit. Allura frowned as she looked Keith over. "Sit! We need to take care of those cuts before they get too infected."

Keith groaned as he reluctantly sat down. Though other then that he ignored Allura. "I don't know what Lance's problem is. I don't think he was getting much sleep when he started freaking out over nothing."

"He is still not getting much sleep. Or eating much. I hope he's not getting sick from a bug of some sort." Hunk shrugged before walking to the front of the ship to get ready to take off.

"I'm sure it is nothing serious. So just relax and let Allura bandage you up." Sven smiled, patting Keith on the shoulder before following Hunk.

Keith wanted to hit Sven for leaving him alone with Allura. With Lance not being there Keith wanted at least one friend to talk to and he didn't feel up to dealing with the princess. Keith closed his eyes and leaned his hand back against the headrest of the seat.

"That's good. Just rest, Keith." Allura smiled as she examined Keith's wrist before putting a brace on it. "I'll take care of you."

"Whatever." Keith mumbled as he opened his eyes. "I think I'm going to try to get some rest over on the cot."

"Good idea. Just what you need." Allura grinned as she followed Keith to the cot. Once he got comfortable, she draped a blanket over him. "Get some sleep. We'll be home soon."

Keith didn't bother to reply. He just buried his face against the pillow and allowed the silent, lonely tears fall from his eyes.

##########

After an hour of trying to sleep Keith gave up and remained motionless on the bed, feigning sleep so he didn't have to talk to anyone. He could hear someone talking quietly but it only seemed to be one half of a conversation. The speaker sounded like the princess and he began to listen more carefully. He could only make out a few parts of the sentences, about someone being a fool and breaking them up. He quietly rolled over enough to look around the room, spotting Allura sitting on a chair with a headset communicator, a sly smile on her lips. "Lance is an idiot and Keith will believe whatever I tell him. By tomorrow Keith will be mine."

Keith silently slid out of the bed and stepped over behind Allura. "No. He won't."

Allura gasped and yanked off her communicator. "Keith! You're awake!"

Keith narrowed his eyes at the princess. "How could you?"

"How could I what?" Allura smiled up at Keith. "What are you talking about?"

"Can the bullshit already! I overheard your conversation!" Keith said angrily.

"I'm doing what must be done for my kingdom!" Allura said angrily. "My people demand an heir. But to do that I must get married and you are the best candidate!"

"Not interested." Keith snorted. "Why don't you try Lotor? He's dumb enough to want you."

"Don't insult me!" Allura almost shrieked as she stood up and faced Keith. "The damage is done and not even you can fix it! So why don't you just accept it!"

"Nothing has been done that can't be undone." Keith growled as his eyes darkened. "And if you've done anything to harm him there won't be anywhere for you to hide!"

Allura snorted. "You can do nothing to me! And Lance is so easy to manipulate...so insecure of himself. Do you really think he'll trust you after everything we've done to him? I'm sure Coran and Nanny are right now still playing on his insecurities. He doesn't think he's good enough for you...and he's right!"

Keith's eyes blazed with rage, somehow resisting the urge to slap the arrogant princess. "If anything were to happen to Lance, I would kill you without fear of the consequences! And you know nothing about love if you think Lance will hate me as a result of your petty game."

"I think we've heard enough." A grim voice stopped Allura from saying anything. The princess and Keith turned quickly to see Sven leaning against the wall, arms folding across his chest. Hunk stood next to him in the doorway, glaring angrily at the princess. Sven frowned deeply. "Please go to one of the rooms and don't come out until we land, princess."

Allura glared at the two men. "You can't tell me what to do! This is none of your business so go back to flying the shuttle!" When neither Sven nor Hunk did what she said her face reddened with anger. "I ORDER YOU! YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO ME!"

"For the last time your highness. Leave or Hunk will escort you." Sven growled.

"YOU CAN'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" Allura screamed furiously.

"Give it up already." Keith sighed as he turned and walked away from the irate princess.

Sven sighed. "Hunk would you be so kind?"

"Gladly." Hunk smirked, walking over to the princess and gripping her arm firmly. "Let's go Allura. Don't make me have to carry you."

"YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS!" Allura shrieked, struggling to get away from Hunk.

Keith rolled her eyes. "She's really not too bright, is she?"

"Nope." Hunk chuckled before picking Allura up and throwing her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "I'll put her away. Might even lose the key too!"

"KEITH WILL BE MINE! YOU'LL SEE!" Allura yelled, still struggling.

"Please lose the key!" Keith sighed.

Hunk winced since he couldn't cover his ears. "With pleasure!" Then he turned and left the room, not even fazed by Allura's kicking, hitting, or screaming.

Sven sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Well, that was a tad bit annoying."

"I'd say more like annoying as hell. I can't believe that fucking little bitch pulled such a stunt." Keith growled, his eyes still blazing with anger.

"Me neither. Guess she has some brain cells to actually come up with this. That or Nanny or Coran did it." Sven frowned slightly. "Get some more rest. I'll tell Pidge to keep an eye on those two and make sure they keep away from Lance."

"I am not in the mood to rest. I would rather talk to Lance." Keith sighed, the anger finally fading from his black eyes.

Sven smiled reassuringly. "We'll be landing soon. Then you can straighten things out with Lance. The rest of us will deal with Coran and Nanny."

"I just hope Lance is willing to listen." Keith mumbled, more to himself then for Sven to hear as he moved to sit down on one of the chairs.

"I'm sure he will. If not, then make him. Everything will be fine." Sven squeezed Keith's shoulder before walking toward the door. "I better get back to the controls and contact Pidge."

Keith leaned back against the seat and allowed his thoughts to drift over the events of the past few days, wishing he could speed up time to be back with Lance sooner then the shuttle could get him there.

##########

Lance stared sadly out of their bedroom window, an open book in his lap. He had been trying to read but the words kept blurring together. Lance knew he should get some sleep, but every time he managed to drift off those dreams of Keith leaving him would appear, quickly waking him up in a crying fit. Sighing, he rested his head against the chair and rubbed his eyes. Lance wished Keith would hurry up and get home. Maybe then the dreams would go away.

As if on cue, a breathless Keith burst into the room like a gust of wind. His pace slowed as he approached Lance, still too breathless to speak.

"Keith?" Lance jerked out of his daze, his book falling to the floor. His eyes widened and he jumped to his feet when he saw his lover's appearance. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Keith stepped over to Lance and wrapped his uninjured arm around him, resting his head against his lover's shoulder. "Just had a little accident, nothing major."

"What accident? Where are you hurt? How badly?" Lance pulled back slightly, his hand cupping the side of Keith's face as his worried eyes looked the captain over. "Why didn't someone tell me?"

Keith smiled lovingly at Lance. "The worst injury is a sprained wrist. You weren't told because of the stupid games of lies and deceit that were being played by the princess along with Coran and Nanny."

Lance stared at Keith in confusion. "What? What are you talking about?"

"Allura was trying to break us up by making you doubt me...which you should never do. I love you more then anything. You are my heart and soul...never doubt my love for you." Keith said firmly before kissing Lance's cheek.

Shocked, Lance could only stare at Keith. Then he silently pulled away and sat down numbly on the bed, staring at the floor. After a few moments of silence, Lance finally spoke in a quiet whisper. "It...was all just...a game?"

Keith knelt on the floor in front of Lance and pressed a gentle hand against his lover's cheek. "To her it was...a sick and twisted game."

"I'm...sorry." Lance mumbled, quickly averted his eyes to the ground so that Keith couldn't see his tears. He felt so stupid and foolish! "Why...why did they do it? Why?"

"Look at me." Keith slid his hand under Lance's chin turning the man's head so they were eye to eye. "She was trying to force me to be with her. She claimed it was so she could produce an heir."

"And I fell for it!" Lance laughed and cried bitterly, pulling his head out of Keith's grip and covering his face with his own hands. "I'm so stupid! I...I shouldn't have doubted you! But I was so confused! I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!"

Keith gently pulled Lance's hands away from his face. "You are not stupid. Everyone falls for another's lies at times. Everyone has doubts about things from time to time."

"But I shouldn't doubt you!" Lance whispered sadly, tears slowly running down his face. "I shouldn't have this fear that one day you'll find someone better and leave me because... because I can't make your dreams come true!"

"You're right, you shouldn't doubt how much I love you. Or ever fear that I will leave you. My heart is yours...my love for you is eternal." Keith gently kissed both of Lance's tear streaked cheeks then lightly kissed his lips.

Lance wrapped his arms around Keith's neck and rested his head against his lover's neck. "I'm sorry." He could barely choke out the words as the tears fell harder. "I'm so sorry. It's just..."

Keith wrapped his uninjured arm around Lance and held him. "Sh, it's okay. I forgive you. It hurt that you doubted me...that we fought because of her lies...but it doesn't hurt as much as it would have if you had left me because of what she'd done."

"I wouldn't have left you. I love you too much for that." Lance mumbled, clinging tighter to Keith. "If...if it would have made you happy, I'd...I'd share you. A house with a rose garden...I could give you. But...I'd never be able to...to give you a child to call your own...what you...really want. Only...only a woman...could...and I..."

"You are what I really want." Keith said firmly as he hugged Lance tighter. "I don't want any children...at least not now. It would be nice but I don't know if I ever would. But if we decided we did want children we could adopt."

Lance sighed and relaxed against Keith, his crying slowing down to a stop. "I'm sorry. I love you. The thought of losing you was tearing me apart. I couldn't bear to lose you."

"And I couldn't bear to lose you." Keith whispered softly. "I love you Lance."

"I...I can't believe...they would do that! After all this time!" Lance pulled back slightly so he could look at Keith, his hazel eyes bloodshot from crying and lack of sleep.

"I don't know." Keith sighed. Then he climbed onto the bed and sat next to Lance. "Right now all I am concerned about is making sure we're okay."

Lance nodded before resting his head against Keith's shoulder. He felt exhausted after all the sleepless nights and little food. The useless mental torture Lance had been putting himself through for the last couple of days had taken its toll. But now, all that excess baggage was lifted off his shoulders. "We're okay...more than okay."

"Good." Keith smiled. "Now I don't know about you but I could use about 24 hours of sleep."

"Me too...maybe even more." Lance smiled slightly at Keith. "We probably should take you to see the doctor first..."

"I'm fine. A few bruises. A couple cuts. A sprained wrist." Keith smiled as he slowly laid back on the bed, pulling Lance down with him. "The best cure for me is to be able to hold you close while I sleep."

"I'd like that." Lance chuckled, pulling away to cover them with a blanket. He sighed as he carefully snuggled close to Keith and into his arms. "I need that."

"Me too." Keith whispered. "I love you Lance, more then I could ever say."

"I love you too. Forever." Lance whispered before the warmth and security of his lover's arms pulled him into a deep, peaceful slumber.

Keith closed his eyes, drifting into a peaceful sleep knowing things were okay between himself and Lance and that nobody could ever tear them apart, that their love was strong enough to survive anything. Dreams of a peaceful future that he and Lance could share together blessed his dreams and he hoped that Lance was able to find the same dreams now that Allura's deceiving game had failed.

Owari ^_~